The Confederation of All India Traders had raised an objection with the Centre earlier this week seeking ban on Manforce Condoms’s outdoor advertisements all over Gujarat alleging it was derogatory and put the festival in bad light. CAIT Secretary general Praveen Khandelwal said: The company was highly irresponsible in putting up condom hoardings just when the nine-day festival was round the corner.

Apart from pulling down the campaign that stirred controversy, the company clarified on social media platform Twitter on Wedesday evening stating: “Navratra Hoardings Campaign was not meant to hurt anyone's sentiments & was immediately withdrawn. We deeply regret any such incident.”

“It was not a CSR (on part of the brand) at all,” he said rubbishing claims that unwanted pregnancies are a fallout of the festival. “If the company was indeed serious in its efforts to promote condom-usage, why did it not do throughout the year and timed it when the festival was just days away,” he told ET.

Further, CAIT shot a letter to Smriti Irani, Minister for Information & Broadcasting on Thursday requesting that the Centre formulates a specified "Code of Conduct" for brand ambassadors with stringent penal provisions against irresponsible celebrity endorsements to protect Consumers.